Comments on: When Does a Blogger Become Part of “The Media”?

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 07 May 2007 19:37:47 +0000

This is an interesting question. Africa News is working to give the user the opportunity to take part in the publishing process. See http://www.africa-news.net!

By: Thoughts on Media 2.0 from Web 2.0 | White African

Thoughts on Media 2.0 from Web 2.0 | White African — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:02:22 +0000

[…] Shelton, of Technorati, on blogging, a discussion we’ve had previously here on WhiteAfrican and Tresblue: “A whole lot more people war going to think of themselves as […]

By: HASH

HASH — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:23:36 +0000

Emmo, by the way, I really really like what you’re doing at KenyaImagine. It’s a fabulously well done site and has great content for Kenyans.

I agree with you that the best part about blogging is that you’re allowed to be opinionated. In many ways it’s like being a radio talk show host. It’s an interesting analogy anyway.

By: emmo opoti

emmo opoti — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:56:47 +0000

We grapple with this issue everyday at our blog, which really is growing into much more than that, especially as we are very strict about what quality we accept and about the comments we allow to remain on the boards.
As your readers grow to expect a certain quality so do the demands to grow more and more into something like a mainstream newspaper. The beauty of blogging for us remains in the fact that we are not fettered to any particular worldview. Whereas some of our writers are pro-government others are anti-government. Our greatest challenge is to accommodate all these points of view.

For us, our responsibility extends even even further as we came into being expressly because we were dissatisfied with the mainstream Kenyan media.

By: HASH

HASH — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:37:13 +0000

Gavin, I believe my thinking on this falls closest in line with your sentiments on “he who has the biggest audience wins”. It’s what we see happening in the world today. In web technology it’s better to be picked up by TechCrunch than the NY Times when you first launch (in the US).

By: Gavin Chait

Gavin Chait — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:26:40 +0000

As both a professional journalist / writer and a “free” blogger I have some experience of both sides of the fence. I have been astonished at the knee-jerk sucking up that some professional journos do in the presence of politicians and business bigwigs. I have been amazed at the naivete and short-sightedness of bloggers too.

I think the major difference is really one of clout. If you write for a blog that has 1 million readers a day then you’ve got similar clout to a major news publication and can shout the odds. If you’re writing a tiny blog with a few dozen readers a week then you’re probably no different to a magazine with a microscopic circulation.

That basically means that – if you have the clout – you can expect to be invited to big events as a special media guest, and take the sort of risks that might land you in trouble knowing that you either have sufficient celebrity status or your employer does, to get you out of trouble.

If you don’t, you don’t.

I frequently use my regular column at the Cape Argus as a way to get into events that I’m covering for other journals knowing that they probably won’t let me in otherwise.

Although, as with a recent corporate do (an opening of a 20-computer IT centre at a school for 5 000 kids that was celebrated with all the excitement of the coming of the risen lord, gag, gag, gag) I sometimes get surprised by the desperation of PR firms to put bums in seats to make the CEOs feel special, and was invited on behalf of the magazine I write for that probably only has a few thousand readers.

By: SR

SR — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:53:29 +0000

I believe there’s an idea that there are standards for journalistic “ethics” and some of this controversy comes from the fact that there are no real accepted standards of ethics for bloggers (which could create new kinds of misinformation for the general public). Certainly, the financial implications for established media industries are also at work here…

By: sokari

sokari — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 06:51:34 +0000

It’s simple – there are many forms of journalism from radio, TV, community radio, print and the latest addition is blogger journalism – I see myself less as a blogger journalist but more of an “activist journalist” using blogging as my medium.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 23:20:41 +0000

Interesting question posed Hash. It is a wonder that the ones who ask this question most are the journalists and media houses whose livelihood is getting affected by bloggers. We are encroaching on their turf. They treat you different and try belittling bloggers. The only other people who complain are those covered on exposes by bloggers.

As for businesses, all press is good press. It is always good to be in front people regardless of what you are saying. So blogs are good for them. How many small businesses would get any pr if it wasn’t for blogging?

So are they journalists? I don’t know how to answer that. I just know they are doing what journalists do. Whether free of paid and their services are of value. This can be attested by the number of media houses incorporating bloggers or new business models rely on blogging to make it.

By: David Young

David Young — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 20:20:11 +0000

Over time quality gets recognized, rewarded and requested more than the mundane. The more the market is free, the better it will decide,